


Mao's Crummy Day

by Omnibard



Series: A Place Out By The Sun [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Bad Days, Cheering Up, FFXV, Gift Fic, Hunters & Hunting, attempted hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-31 01:49:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13964745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omnibard/pseuds/Omnibard
Summary: Gift-Fic for Mandakatt concerning her Original Character Mao and Nyx Ulric.





	Mao's Crummy Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mandakatt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mandakatt/gifts).



It did not rain often in Leide, but when it did, it _really did_ , a terrible deluge that stripped the baked ground, carving through it in tiny streams of mud and debris.  Mao was having a terrible day, so of _course_ it started raining while she was limping her way painfully toward the haven she knew was still miles away.

That was how she ended up in this little crevice in the cliff-face, not large enough to be called a proper _cave_ , but there was room to _almost_ stand up in and lay her entire length—if she had to.  She really hoped she didn’t have to.  It’d be a bitch to fight daemons in here.

All night.

Injured.

With the luck she was having today.

She’d been ambushed by a pack of sabertusks—easy fare, she could take them in her _sleep_!—and they’d scared Stryder right out from under her!

She’d lost her chocobo whistle at that point too.

Then her _actual_ mark had rolled in—the Grandhorn—and she was _still_ trying to figure out _how_ , but she’d managed to twist her knee and had had to _abandon the hunt_!

She was investigating the extent of her injuries—mostly scrapes, a few gashes, lots of bruises, and the knee—when she suddenly realized she wasn’t alone.

“Hey, you alright?”

She hadn’t heard or seen him come in—figures, way today was going—and there was something strange about him, the way he _looked_.  He was tall—six foot something probably—and dressed in black and silver—a uniform from the city… Kingsglaive?—with dark hair and light eyes, and the easiest smile she’d seen since the mirror.

Her own slid across her face… despite everything else, “Yeah, pretty good, thanks.”

“All things considered, anyway?”

She laughed, “Oh damn, don’t tell me you saw all that disaster…”

“Only the good parts.” He had to hunch over almost in half in the crevice, and eventually gave up, squatting down on his haunches, “I’m Nyx.”

“Mao.” The hunter laughed a little, then hissed a wince when she tried to extend her leg. “You… you’re from Insomnia right?”

“Indirectly, yeah.” He shrugs, “Not much of it these days.”

“Still.  Your uniform… It’s very Capital City.”

“Right?  I kept telling them how ridiculous it is—try _fighting_ in it—but nobody listens to Nyx.  The hell do _I_ know about fashion, right?”

“Most Kingsglaive I’ve met don’t wear it anymore.”

“… Really?” Nyx seemed confused, and for the barest fraction of a second, it seemed something was turning over behind his face, but he shook it off and grinned, “They doing well, then?”

“As well as anybody.” Then Mao grimaced and sighed, glancing around the crevice, “Better than _some…_ ”

Shrugging, he gestured to her leg, “Some bruises and battered ego does us all some good.  You’re clearly good at what you do, Mao, and that’s something.  Other people would be _dead._ ”

It was an odd sort of compliment, she thought, like he was talking around a topic while also trying to encourage her. “Thanks… I think.”

“You know where you’re going, right?” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, toward the entrance and the waning daylight, “Shouldn’t hole up here for the night…”

“Yeah, there’s a haven about a half-hour south of here.  Might even be a radio setup.” She shrugged, watching him, “That should probably be your plan too, city boy.”

“’City boy’ huh?” He mocked offense, straightening his collar and adjusting the cuffs of his coat, then broke back into a grin, “ _That’s_ not the way to convince me to help carry your ass to the haven.”

She grinned back, “I’ll be able to _walk_ just fine in a few minutes.  Thanks for the offer though.”

“They teach us gentlemanly manners in the capital.” Was his winking assurance, “Very posh.”

Laughing again, Mao realized she actually did feel kind of better about the whole situation, “So I keep hearing.”  Then she considered, “Do you have a vehicle?  Or a chocobo?”

“Nah, sorry.” Then he glanced over his shoulder, “Lemme see if I can rustle one up, though.”

“Hey Nyx?”

He look back at her again, “Mhm?”

“Thanks.  For checking up on me.  And y’know… encouraging me.”

Another wink, “Crap days happen.  You’re tougher than ‘em.  See ya in a bit…”

He clambered back out of the crevice, and Mao was left still wondering what was bothering her about his appearance.  Even so, she felt lighter inside—and she was wearing a smile she _felt_.

\---

Long minutes passed, the rain had let up-- gone as quick as it'd come-- and the hunter was getting restless, eager to move on and get to the haven.  Making her way to the entrance of the crevice, she found no sign of the Kingsglaive, but there on a rock, with the setting sun glinting off of it, was her chocobo whistle.

Taking it, she verified that it was _definitely_ hers, and that it _definitely_ hadn’t been there the entire time.  She found it strange that Nyx would find it, recognize it as belonging to her, somehow, and then return it without telling her he was back.  Looking around for a track or trail, she realized at last what it was that was so strange about the Kingsglaive she’d met.

He left no trail.  No footprints in the dusty ground.

**Author's Note:**

> Epilogue:  
> After watching the hunter ride off on her blue chocobo toward the nearest haven, Nyx turned and faced his companion, who reclined in the fiery light from the setting sun, soaking up the heat radiating off the rocks, “… Thanks. For letting me… y’know. Help.”  
> “Sure.”  
> “No, really. I get that… you didn’t have to. Maybe you weren’t even supposed to… but thank you. It—“  
> “—Shut up, Nyx. It’s fine. Playing hero is important to you, I get it.”  
> Nyx snorted, “Honestly? It was just nice to talk to somebody else for a change. Why didn’t you come down?”  
> The blonde shrugged, “She would have noticed right away something wasn’t right about you, with a comparison.”  
> “Do I really look...?”  
> “Like a ghost? Yeah, but that can be… adjusted… lighting helps.”  
> “Well thanks. Seriously. I could feel how much work you had to do to keep me… together … I kept getting that… dragging.”  
> “That’s how it goes.”  
> “Yeah.” Then the Kingsglaive considered the setting sun, “… We’d better get going. I’d rather not fight daemons for you all night again.”
> 
>  
> 
> Got questions? Want to talk about it? [Here's your mic! ](https://mtraki.tumblr.com/ask)


End file.
